Chapter 10: Web of Lies

Days passed in a daze of happiness for Brian, as he was getting used to the life at Miller Mansion with Anna and Maria. It was kind of a fairy tale love story. People like Brian, Maria, and Anna were brought together by circumstances, and they found love together. But wait, that did not sound right, did it?

Brian and Anna spent nights exploring each other’s bodies with tender touches in a slow trembling dance of passion. As Anna struggled with getting accustomed to Brian’s rather imposing size, he was always so patient and giving with her. Maria was always present with them, lovingly guiding them to explore the pleasures of flesh.

Anna had given up her inhibitions and took her pleasures rather aggressively. She was always willing and ready for him, but rather selfishly. Every night she lost count of the orgasms, but she barely managed to satiate his lust.

It was Maria’s role to ensure Brian achieved his satisfaction, however, she was still content in giving him handjob’s or blowjob’s only. While she stayed naked with them and never stopped them from touching her, she never gave Brian too much of liberty. He was only allowed to kiss her and suck on her nipples to his heart’s content. While she did masturbate sometimes while watching them, she had her own inhibitions that stopped her from participating in full-blown intercourse with both Brian and Anna.

Maria’s diligent management skills ensured that the household ran smoothly. She had finally started to allow Brian and Anna to have their own private time and allow their budding romance to blossom.

Yet, even within all this perfection, something didn’t feel right to Brian. There was an undercurrent of discontent that gnawed at his brain like an itch he couldn’t scratch. Nowadays he was struggling to focus on things and his thoughts were messed up. Unlike his organized and disciplined old self, he was more and more dependent on Maria. He had started forgetting things and found many simple things to be complicated. Forget about studying, even reading a newspaper was a difficult task for him.

While these symptoms worried him, he had more pressing questions. Anna had started looking for moments away from them. She would sneak away from time to time as if she were trying to hide something from both Maria and Brian. While her behavior bothered Brian, Maria remained unaffected. She continued to support Anna and asked Brian to give her some space.

While Brian tried to follow her advice, he could not avoid the nagging sense of foreboding. Something was not right and he was frustrated as he could not figure out what bothered him. So he started snooping around the mansion, trying to uncover the mystery of Anna’s secretive behavior. Maria noticed his odd behavior, but she did not try to stop him. Some mysteries are better left unsolved until you are ready to face them and Brian was about to learn it the hard way.

One afternoon, Brian decided to tail Anna unnoticed as he found her carrying her cell phone with a giddy expressions. He kept a safe distance behind her as she went into an unused guest room. He stayed near the door as he tried to listen to her call discretely.

While the call started in a happy and excited tone, soon Anna’s voice cracked with desperation. In stark contrast to her confident and strong personality, she was pleading and begging on the call.

“Victor, please ... I’m sorry for everything. All my mistakes and every cruel word said in anger. You have to know how deeply I regret my actions in the past,” she implored sincerely. He could hear her controlled sobs and regretful emotions. “I need you back by my side, Victor. I can’t fight this darkness alone. You are my guiding light. I am nothing without your love and strength.”

Tears streamed down Anna’s cheeks as she continued confessing—no longer caring about appearances or reputations but only focused on mending what had been broken between them before it was too late.

Brian’s heart shattered into a thousand pieces when he listened to Anna tell Victor, the man on the phone, that she loved him. It felt like Anna had stabbed him with a knife and she was twisting it with every word she said to Victor.

“I am willing to give up everything if that means having you again. Nothing else matters except getting my loving husband back.” Anna declared firmly.

“I have already signed over the merger contract, surrendering all power and control over my business to you. I really wish you would believe me now.”

He couldn’t bear to listen to these love confessions and reconciliation talks anymore. Numbness spread through his limbs, as finally the reality of the situation really sank in for him.

It was all a lie, all the tender moments between them, passionate lovemaking. Every kiss and caress they’d shared between them was nothing but a deceit. Anna was pining for Victor all this time. She had only used him and manipulated his feelings for her.

Bile rose in Brian’s throat as he pondered his own foolishness in believing she would fall for him. He was too naive to understand relationships. At one moment he was at the top of the world, only to face the disastrous crash at the very next moment.

He could not sit there any longer, while his dreams crashed and burned. Brian turned and stumbled toward the exit. Maria looked at him with pitiful eyes, yet she did nothing to stop him as he walked out of the mansion in the glaring afternoon sun.

He had no destination in mind beyond putting as much distance between himself and this living nightmare as possible. Tears blinded his gaze as anguish drowned out even the logical thoughts. The only thing he could be certain of in his muddled state was his burning hatred for Victor. A man he had started to hate with every fiber of his being.

While he was still struggling to get hold of his emotions, many questions assaulted his mind. How can she do this to me? How could I have been so blind? What was her end goal? Why would she put so much effort into him?

He was trying to come to terms with his volatile emotions and never noticed that he was being followed by six men. They soon caught up with him and surrounded him, making him stop in his steps. He was too slow to react and with a rough show of power, they pushed him in the car. He was taken back to the same building he had been in some three months ago.

It did not take long for Brian to understand that Victor’s men had been waiting for him outside the Miller mansion. They were taking him to Victor’s office, this time by force.

As Brian sat across from Victor in the dimly lit office, he felt his heart pounding with a mix of fear and anxiety. The intense hate he had felt for this man turned cold as he felt the same fear creeping on him.

There was nothing he could do against this man right now. Victor was too powerful, and he lacked the means to hurt him. The reality check brought him back to his senses. He needed to keep his calm to get even the smallest chance to fight against this man.

Victor had a complex look on his face. Brian assumed that Anna’s words of apology and reconciliation must have affected him. His disturbed mental state had given him a false bravado. He planned to use this as an opportunity to lead the conversation.

Brian took out two cigarettes, lit one, and offered another to Victor. Victor had a look of disgust on his face as he rejected his cigarette while taking out an expensive cigar and lit it.